The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of hybrid Baptisia plant, botanically known as Baptisia ‘Sparkling Sapphires’ and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Sparkling Sapphires’. The new cultivar represents a new false indigo plant, a long-lived, hardy, herbaceous perennial grown for landscape and cut flower use.
The new invention arose from an ongoing breeding program at a nursery in Waseca, Minn. and continued at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. with the specific intention of improving garden worthiness of perennial False Indigo plants with a wider variety of flower colors and improved garden habit.
Open pollinated seed was collected by the hybridizer from the proprietary unreleased Baptisia sphaerocarpa ‘Linda’ (not patented) the inventor in September of 2009. The new individual plant was a single seedling assigned the breeder code H9-49-01 and was approved for final selection in spring of 2013 in Zeeland, Mich. The male or pollen parent may have come from any one of a number of named or unreleased hybrids within a vast group in the breeding fields in Waseca, Minn., but because of the resultant traits of the new plant it is presumed the male parent was of Baptisia minor background.
No plants have been sold, either in this country or anywhere in the world, prior to the filing of this application, nor has any disclosure been made prior to the filing of this application with the exception of that which was within one year of the filing of this application and was derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.
Compared to the female parent the new plant is more compact, better branched and has more intense blue flowers, rather than the yellow flowers of ‘Linda’. The new plant produces fruit that is more elliptic and less globose than ‘Linda’. ‘Linda’ has stems about 115 cm tall that are less upright producing a plant nearly 150 cm across compared to the 85 cm height and 78 cm width of the new plant.
The nearest comparison variety is ‘Blue Bonnet’ (not patented) which is slightly shorter in habit with flowers that are not as intense blue and more separated on the stem. Compared to other similar plants, ‘Blueberry Sundae’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,891 is more lavender purple in color and has lighter intensity. Baptisia ‘Midnight’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 20,432 is much taller and more vase shaped. Compared to ‘Blue Mound’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,902 the new plant is shorter, has longer peduncles with more flowers and more intense blue flowers.
Baptisia ‘Sparkling Sapphires’ differs from all cultivars known to the inventor in the following combined traits:                1. Compact mounded habit with upright highly-branching stems;        2. Many large, intense blue-colored flowers on well-branched stems held above the foliage in the spring;        3. Branches and foliage develop in summer to produce rounded habit and cover base of inflorescences.        